Dolls
by Pale Treasures
Summary: During Catherine's absence, Henry is forced to help with the predicament of his 5-year-old daughter. One shot.


**Disclaimer: **Everything belongs to Jane Austen, except for the characters you do not recognize.

**Rating: **K

**Author's Note: **This ties in with my other Northanger Abbey story, _A Very Great Hope_, but both can be read separately. :)

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**Dolls**

It was a sunny, warm May afternoon; outside his study, the view of the garden he had was suffused in gilded light, and the occasional, gentle twitter of a bird, followed by one of his companion's answering one, could be heard. Henry Tilney had seized the precarious peace to sit in his study, in an attempt to begin work on his latest sermon. He was perfectly aware that the golden, silent calm he was currently enjoying would be short-lived; for Catherine had left the family abode earlier in the day, in the company of the nurse, intent on taking their two-month old twin boys to her parents' house, for her family had yet to meet them.

Catherine's almost stupefying anguish and anxiety after the birth of their firstborn was quite a thing of the past; the birth of four more children had caused her faculties to flourish and aided her in regarding what was previously considered as a motive for the greatest concern as a reason for laughter instead. Nine years ago, the prospect of taking two infants on such a journey would have horrified her; this time, the idea had come from Catherine herself, and she had dismissed with a gay laugh his and her own mamma's misgivings.

Still, in spite of her unflappable and jovial approach to motherly duties, one would never accuse Catherine of carelessness or indifference; she was as loving and thoughtful as any one could wish, a warm bosom to forget childish troubles in, and a figure sure to whisper many a soothing and kind word in the face of even the slightest scrapes or maladies.

He had to own he was surprised and touched by the change his wife had undergone; to his thinking, there was no better wife and mother, although he very seldom told her so. No doubt she knew it, but, even if she did not – it was one of the things he admired and loved in her – she would have proceeded to act just in the same manner, confident and cheerful about her own abilities and in the happiness of those around her.

Nevertheless, Catherine was still gone from the house, along with the nurse, and he was left with their three older children and the meagre hope that they might entertain themselves for a while. He knew far better than to cherish such a hope for long, however; and the anticipation of hearing a cry of indignation or protest, or his own name brought into whatever squabble it would undoubtedly need settling, prevented him from fully concentrating on the sermon he ought to be writing.

The silence was lulling, however, and, as it enveloped him further with no interruptions, he became absorbed in his words and the arrangement thereof. He thought he was mistaken when he heard a very gentle rapping at the door; straining his hearing, he heard the sound repeated. Bewildered, he bid the unknown caller enter.

A small, sandy-curled girl sheepishly slid halfway into the study. 'Papa?'

He pushed from the desk and turned to face his youngest daughter. 'Ellie? What is it?'

She had advanced further into the office, not without having the trouble to close the door after her first. Henry was half bemused, half suspicious of such bashful demeanour; little Eleanor's character what the sort which boasted of such resoluteness and forcefulness that the need for bashful or gentler manners was often disregarded, or considered unnecessary, not to say bewildering. He worried, therefore, about the reason for her visit, miraculously, it seemed, undetected by her elder siblings.

The girl slithered into his lap and wound her arms round his neck. 'Papa,' she whispered, 'I did something very naughty.'

'Have you, child?' he inquired, torn between amusement and dread. 'What was it you did?'

Ellie's thumb had slid into her mouth, and there it remained as she leant her head upon his shoulder; _that_ surprised him most of all. Such a practice was habitually declared by his grand little daughter to be 'childish' and 'unladylike'; he did not believe he had ever seen her do it, not even as a younger child.

'You will not be angry with me, papa?' she pleaded, looking abruptly up at him with beseeching eyes.

'I cannot say, as you have not yet told me what it is you did," Henry replied gently.

She slid from his lap. 'I'll show you,' she said, in a small voice, 'it's outside.' She threw a fearful glance at the door. 'I don't want Harry and Cathy to know about it.'

'Very well; we will do the thing so as to ensure they do not hear us.'

And so they stealthily went from the study, passed the drawing room, where the two eldest were occupied in a game of words, the violence of which the only possibly accountable reason for their inattention and unawareness of their sister's vanishing.

They stepped into the garden and walked towards the orchard; Ellie, holding his hand, led him, and he wordlessly followed. They came to a halt before one of the lime trees, where an object, at first unrecognisable, was nestled in between the branches.

'What is it?' he asked, turning to his daughter.

'It's Cathy's doll.' Ellie paused, half frightened, and went on in a great rush, 'It's such a pretty doll and Cathy never lets me go near it, even when I beg her and ask very nicely; and I was so cross and wanted to play with it for only a little while so badly, that I stole it when she wasn't looking and came outside to play. But then _Walker _got hold of it and I couldn't get him to let it go, and since he is such a great dog he tossed Cathy's doll into the air and it got stuck in the branches and I couldn't reach it.' Ellie's voice wavered dangerously. 'I only wanted to play with it for a little bit; I didn't want to spoil it and now Cathy is going to be so angry with me.' She broke into a sob and then, his little one who prided herself in never crying, burst into piteous tears.

The state of disfigurement of the until then unidentifiable object became thus understood. Henry sighed; he could not lie to his daughter and say that her elder sister would not be very displeased, and even heartbroken, for she certainly would be. He needed to mend the situation and console his repentant youngest, but for awhile he was at a loss as how best to proceed. This was Catherine's territory, and he had no doubt that she would have had an idea to fix things whilst she was still in the midst of hearing what had happened.

'Come, now,' he said gently, scooping Ellie up in his arms. 'Don't cry; it will not solve things now. What you did was wrong, but I know you did not mean to be wicked; did you?'

Ellie shook her head and sniffled.

'We will find a way to put things to rights. Now. It is quite clear that Cathy's doll is ruined; to make her happy, we will need to find her a new one. Do you not think?'

Ellie nodded tentatively and looked up at him.

The first thing he thought of was getting his eldest daughter a new doll; but it was quite impossible, since he was in the country, alone with the children. He could not make the journey to town. Whilst pacing the garden with Ellie in his arms, he tried to think of an alternative.

'Is there anything in your possession that Cathy has admired before? Something you think she would have been happy to own?'

'Well,' Ellie said in a small voice, after pondering for a minute, 'she likes one of my dolls too.'

'Hmm. And do you play with her often?'

'No; I used to like _Gertrude_ better, but not since I have _Ermengarde_. She is a nice little doll enough, but I hardly play with her anymore.'

'Hmm,' Henry nodded rather gravely, trying his best not to chuckle at the dolls' fanciful names and forever wound the pride of his youngest daughter. 'What think you of a trade, then? Your _Gertrude_ for Cathy's doll?'

Ellie nodded brightly. 'Yes, papa. I think that would work very nicely.'

'Let us go, then; and with a little luck, we might have the thing arranged before Cathy even notices it.'

Again, they tiptoed into the house; the heated game of words continued, his and Ellie's absence unnoticed. For once, he felt grateful for the ease with which his children lost their temper at one another. He put Ellie down once they were in the upper floor, and together they went into the nursery.

'Tell me which doll is _Gertrude_,' he requested. Ellie instantly walked over to where it was and picked it up, stopping before him expectantly.

'Very good; bring it along. We need to stop in mamma's room now.'

Ellie followed him into his and Catherine's room. Henry was not entirely certain of his actions, but felt that he could no longer go back on them and leave the matter unresolved. And his daughter, for once, entirely forgot her inclinations to rule in lieu of being ruled, and allowed him to dictate their course of action with a compliant and interested silence.

'Now,' he said, while Ellie sat on the bed watching him, 'let me try and find something.'

He rummaged inside the closet and found a card box where a bonnet he had given Catherine a little while ago had come wrapped in. Catherine still had a taste for little trifles, and, like a small child, had been equally delighted with both the bonnet and the box. The latter was a tad too large for the doll, but it would have to do; there was hardly anything else that could replace it.

'Now, I need you to carefully place _Gertrude_ inside this box.'

Ellie instantly followed his instructions with great care.

'Very nicely done; I couldn't have done it better myself. Place the lid on the box; there. Now, if we wish this to be a proper gift, we need to dress the box up a little, do we not?"

Ellie nodded at once. Indeed, they did need to; but where on earth would he find lace and ribbon and that kind of thing? And even if they did find it, how would he proceed to tie the box and make it look pretty? He wished his sister was there; she would undoubtedly have the thing done in a matter of seconds, and with far more skill and ease than he would ever be able to boast of. It was one thing to know what things went well together; it was quite another to actually _create_ those things. And in that, his sister would forever surpass him.

He rummaged in the closet again, hoping that Catherine's sentimental nature would allow him to find some old ribbons or fabric. His face brightened to an almost unnatural degree once he found just the thing he was looking for: a forgotten bit of sea-green lace, perhaps from one of his daughters' frocks, and a smaller white silk thread. He could do something with this, as meagre as his skill was.

'Look what I found; I think Cathy will like these, don't you?'

Ellie grinned and nodded.

'What shall we do with them?'

'We should twine them together,' Ellie suggested with great authoritativeness, 'and wrap them round the box. That way, it will look like a proper present.'

'A great thought indeed. And that is precisely what we shall do.' As best he could, he twined the lace and silk together, so that both the green and white were visible, and wrapped them around the box. It was just the size; if any of the scraps of fabric were the least bit smaller, their plan would have not have come to fruition.

'How pretty it looks!' Ellie exclaimed delightedly. 'It looks just as a present from a shop ought to look.'

'I agree; I think we did quite well. Now, we are almost done. People who send other people presents usually accompany them with a note; is there anything you wish to write to Cathy?'

Ellie thought for a moment and nodded gravely.

'Very well; then we shall go downstairs into my study again. We must be very quiet; come along. I'll carry the box.'

They did, and Henry could not help a feeling of wry amusement as a small, detached part of his understanding looked upon his current behaviour; tiptoeing like a thief, with his little daughter just behind him mirroring his movements, attempting to escape the otherwise keen attention of his eldest children, who were still in the drawing room, heatedly discussing which was the correct spelling of 'tolerable'.

'There, we are quite safe now,' he proclaimed, not without a measure of relief, as they entered his study and safely locked themselves in. 'Now, as to the note you will write Cathy; have you thought of anything to say?' He sat down at his desk, his sermon quite forgotten, and took up paper and ink.

Ellie sat on the chair opposite him, and gravely pondered her words. At last, she said, 'Please write: Dear Cathy, I hope you are well. I have been a wicked sister, and ruined your doll, but I offer you mine to atone for my sin. I know you will like her and I part with her most gladly. I hope you will forgive me. Your sister, Ellie.'

It was the most delightfully amusing thing, hearing the grave words uttered in a hesitant but very dignified lisp; more than once he had to curb his laughter. Unable to repress a smile, he signed her name with a flourish. 'Anything else?'

'No; that is all,' Ellie replied solemnly.

'It is a grand note; the king himself would not write his own so beautifully. I think he would be very jealous indeed, of such talent.' Ellie took him in without a word, but at last looked pleased.

'You do think Cathy will be happy, papa? You think she will forgive me?' she asked him anxiously.

'I am sure she will, once she sees how sorry you are, and how willing you were to offer her something to satisfy her and compensate for her loss,' he told her tenderly, smoothing back her fair curls.

Ellie sighed in happiness and relief and buried her head in his chest, throwing her arms tightly round his neck. 'Thank you, papa. You are truly the best papa in the whole, _wide_ world!'

The catch at his throat, the tenderness and gratitude that swelled in his heart; ah, none who are not fathers or mothers will understand the exquisite feeling. All vicissitudes and troubles were worth it to hear such simple, truthful, fond little words, to feel the warm lips on his cheek, the little arms cling to his neck.

He decided, nevertheless, that the first thing he would do when he went to town again would be to buy both his daughters new dolls. They deserved it, and it would ensure that, with a bit of luck, it would be a very long time till little troubles like the present one occurred again.


End file.
